V.T. Smeulders

Prof. V.T. Smeulders holds a Special Appointment Professorship in 'Museums, Heritage and Religion' at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society. He is also Head of the History Department at the Rijksmuseum and actively involved in initiatives like the Colonial Collections Consortium. His work bridges academic research with museum curation, focusing on colonial history, slavery legacies, and decolonization.

Research interests include colonial historiography, museum ethics, and the global connections of Dutch colonial past. Notable publications explore material culture of slavery, Caribbean heritage representation, and postcolonial negotiations in Dutch museums. He has contributed to major exhibitions such as the Rijksmuseum's slavery-focused show and co-edited volumes like *Het koloniale en slavernijverleden van Hofstad Den Haag* (2022), which won the Die Haghe Prijs.

Leadership roles include steering committees on colonial heritage and advisory boards for cultural institutions like the Vereniging Rembrandt. Media engagements include interviews on Dutch public TV and *El País* about museum decolonization and slavery memory work.